Outside at last, despite allergies: What cyclists (and everyone else) should know
Carola Felchner
· 03.04.2026
Thomas Kiraly cycled a good 12,000 kilometres last year. The 50-year-old police officer from Dresden discovered cycling for himself in the early 1990s, becoming Saxon runner-up in the mountain bike marathon and Saxon police champion in road cycling and triathlon. It is hard to believe that someone like him, at this high level of performance, was still repeatedly hampered by massive hay fever attacks. But: "It always got really bad in April and May. Even as a child, I had severe hay fever with watery eyes and everything that goes with it. When I was in my early or mid-20s, I developed allergic asthma. My lungs slowly closed up and I couldn't breathe," he recalls.
What exactly is hay fever?
Hay fever, also known as a pollen allergy, is an overreaction of the immune system to harmless substances from the environment, usually plant pollen. Unlike an infection, in which the body fights foreign pathogens, in the case of an allergy the immune system incorrectly recognises certain pollen proteins as dangerous and activates a defence reaction: the immune system forms antibodies that are precisely tailored to the respective allergen, the so-called IgE antibodies. If the body comes into contact with these allergens again, it immediately recognises them and triggers the allergic reaction, in which inflammatory messengers such as histamine are released. These are actually there to mobilise and activate more immune cells, but also trigger the classic hay fever symptoms: Sneezing, itching, runny nose and watery eyes.
"There are actually fewer than ten plants that trigger hay fever in Germany and Europe," explains Prof Karl-Christian Bergmann from the Institute for Allergy Research at Charité in Berlin. "The most important are hazelnut, alder, birch and trees that are related to birch, such as beech and oak. Allergies caused by herb pollen such as mugwort or ragweed are rarer. However, the pollen from grasses, of which there are tens of thousands of species, triggers almost all allergies."
The pollen season is getting longer
Sebastian Petzold is also feeling the effects of this. The 39-year-old amateur cyclist's new life circumstances brought with them a higher level of stress and, he assumes, hay fever. That was ten years ago - and since then, especially in summer when the grass pollen flies, his nose starts to itch and he has to sneeze constantly. "And when I start to sweat on the bike, I get a rash on my skin," he reports - and also that he hasn't yet found anything that really helps with the symptoms.
The intensity of these depends on the amount of pollen released. According to Prof Bergmann, their production is determined by four factors: temperature, humidity, hours of sunshine and the distribution of pollen by the wind. The bad news for allergy sufferers: "As part of climate change, we have had warmer autumn and winter months over the last 20 or 30 years. Sometimes autumn is also wetter.
These changes mean that some plants, such as hazel or alder, start producing pollen earlier, so that they are already flying in January or February. Hazelnut pollen now tends to start 14 days earlier, while mugwort plants, for example, flower for longer. This means that the pollen season is getting longer across all species. People who are allergic to pollen from trees, grasses and herbs can show symptoms almost continuously in some years," says the expert.
Risks when training with hay fever?
These symptoms usually consist of watery, itchy eyes, a runny or blocked nose, frequent sneezing and itching in the throat or on the palate. In medicine, they are summarised under the term allergic rhinitis (only nasal symptoms) or rhinoconjunctivitis (the eyes are also affected). Sometimes the bronchial mucous membranes also react and sufferers, like Thomas Kiraly from Dresden in the past, notice a feeling of tightness in their chest, they wheeze, cough and suffer from shortness of breath. The allergy has then moved from the upper to the lower airways: Allergic asthma develops.
Endurance athletes such as racing cyclists are particularly likely to suffer from hay fever. In an observational study of German athletes from 2019, 42.6 per cent of respondents reported a pollen-related allergy, and around 30.2 per cent also reported asthma symptoms. This is presumably due to the fact that they are more exposed to pollen during intensive training and by spending more time outdoors. "The greater the exposure, the more oxygen you need, you breathe in and out more air and therefore increase the risk of exposure to pollen," summarises allergist Karl-Christian Bergmann.
More than 80 per cent of those affected in the above-mentioned study stated that the symptoms led to a loss of performance during the pollen season. The reason for this can be irritated, mucous-filled airways or simply tiredness, as it is difficult to sleep with a blocked nose. Last but not least, the motivation to train is often simply at rock bottom when you feel like you can hardly breathe. As annoying as hay fever is, "the symptoms are usually not really dangerous," says Professor Bergmann, giving the all-clear. "You simply slow down because you can no longer pedal as hard."
This helps with hay fever
From a medical point of view, it is hardly realistic for most hay fever-stricken amateur cyclists to only get on their bikes when they are completely symptom-free: "To date, there is no way to completely prevent the development of hay fever with medication," says the expert. What provides relief varies from cyclist to cyclist. Sebastian Petzold, for example, finds a nasal douche with salt water and a nasal ointment before a ride helps. "If it gets really bad, I take tablets," he says.
Thomas Kiraly, on the other hand, has not had a good experience with the tablets, saying that they "made him tired and he always fell asleep". Karl-Christian Bergmann confirms that the earlier antihistamine tablets did indeed make everyone tired. This is less common with the new generation, but still happens. Alternatively, an antihistamine or a solution containing cortisone can be administered directly into the nose and eyes in the form of drops or sprays. It is unlikely that you will test positive at a competition as a result. According to the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), "so-called antihistamines such as azelastine, cetirizine, ketotifen or loratadine are permitted at all times". Only pseudoephedrine is prohibited. Athletes must therefore inform their doctor before prescribing any medication.
Thomas Kiraly's desensitisation, now known as allergen-specific immunotherapy (AIT for short), finally brought him the relief he had hoped for. He underwent it for five years, with injections containing the allergens to which he had reacted in a previous test. Even today, this procedure, which addresses the cause of the allergy, is still very useful, even if it is more costly than acute treatment of the symptoms.
"Allergen immunotherapy has improved significantly in recent years," explains Prof Bergmann. "It is no longer only possible to administer AIT with a syringe, but also 'sublingually'. This means using drops or tablets and at home. You take a tablet every day, which dissolves immediately in the mouth, within a few seconds." Side effects are rare, with the same effect as the injections. In addition, AIT can now be started during the pollen season, but it is ideal to start it at least two to four weeks before the pollen count begins.
However, the most important tip that allergy expert Karl-Christian Bergmann has for cyclists is a simple one: "Keep an eye on the pollen count calendar. And, if you are prone to allergic asthma and ride intensively, keep a metered dose inhaler with salbutamol in your jersey pocket and use it around 15 minutes before setting off." This is also permitted according to WADA. And even if it doesn't get rid of the hay fever, it will at least keep you enjoying your bike ride a little.
The most important tips for cycling with hay fever
| Use pollen count forecasts | e.g. the "Husteblume" app or via www.pollenflug.de; plan training on days with low exertion if possible |
| Use the time of day and weather conditions | Pollen concentrations tend to be lower early in the morning and after rain, consider indoor training if pollen concentrations are high |
| Route selection | Avoid green areas with a high pollen count if possible |
| Clothing | Wear cycling goggles |
| Customise training | Reduce intensity if symptoms are severe |
| Drug treatment | Options range from antihistamines and nasal sprays with cortisone to specific immunotherapy (hyposensitisation), which reduces the allergic reaction in the long term |
